Four-wheel-drive tractor.



W. J. & W. F. WEAVER.

FOUR WHEEL DRIVE TRACTOR. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 15, 1916.

Patented Apr 23, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

wi/kmmm W. J. & w. F. WEAVER.

FOUR WHEEL DRIVE TRACTOR. APPLICATION FILED AUG.16. I916.

Patgnted Apr, 23, 1918.

2 SHEHS-SHEET 2.

toor-Whocl-drive type.

W WW

WILLA'JRD J. AND WALTER F. WEAVER, 013 STERLING, ILLINOIS.

roUa-wrrEEL-DaIvE TRACTQR.

Specification 01 Letters Patent.

Patented Apr, 23, rare,

Application filed August 16, 1916. Serial No. 115,246.

.7}, aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that We, lVILLARD J. WEAVER and TAL'IER l lVnAvnR, citizens of the United States, residing at Sterling, in the county of l vhiteside ands-State of'lllinois, have invented new and useftil Improvements in Four Wheel-Drive Tractors, of Which the :lollo'w ing is a specification.

This invention relates to tractors, and aarticularly to drive gearing for tractors of the The primary object of the invention is to provide a four-wheel-drive tractor, embodying novel means for driving all four Wheels simnltaneoir-ily at the, same normal rateof speed. a

Another object is to provide a fourovheeh drive tractor whereinvprovision is made for transmitting constant motion to the Wheels While permitting the Wheelso'l each set to have vertical play to compensate for irreguat" of road surface and also to have difial motion for obviouspurposes! I 1 further objecti the invention is to provide novel construction'of gearing for driving the sets of wh eels from a commoo power plant and for-obtaining positive traction at all times from all of the vehicle wheels in addition to the advantages above, stated,

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of the features of 0011- struction, combination. and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully descril' cd. and claimed. reference being?v had to theaccomis, draivino'sin 'Wliicl are l. is a top plan ow or the frame or chassis of in section. i

is a i ertical transverse section on the l' oi? 1 through the rear d icompensating" gearing, if A I face new of one of the remitting and scrapes:

e rating a was a tractor embodying; our in- Z turned for'vv-airlly, and rearwardly on a cen- V a side elevation oftho, same, with.

by a bed or platform 3, rigidly fixed thereto and forming a support for the driving motor 4. This motor may be any suitable sort of motor, but preferably one of the internal combustion type, the shaft 5 of which transmits motion to a ztransmission shaft 6 through a suitable type of transmission gearing 7. This transmission gearing may be of any preferred type 1n common use-, and

is not specifically shown or described as it constitutes no part of the present invention. In practice a selective type of transmission gearing is preferred, and said gearing is designed to be shifted to its different positions through the action of a controlling lever 8. v The front steering andtraction to and. projecting from a casing generally similar in construction to the casing 12 and i also containing a like type of difl'erential and compensating drive mechanism, The sleeves 14; are fiiredsuitablyto the rear ends of the frame hare 2, and hence the rear axle sections are journaled in bearings Which are stationary With respect to the frame, but provision is made for connecting the front axle and its gearing with the frame in such tral vertical pivot for steering purposes, and

also for permitting the front artisan frame xi pivot-almo- Mr; maylron at accomriisodate th to have relative vertical la tions, so that looth sciso different @lfiiitfii'illS an selves to var ing V race irame hare q or turn laterally, and the casing 12 is disposed between the bifurcated. portion or fork arm of this yoke, which. is provided with hearing openings 1'? rec-(airing true i; v nions l8 at the top and bottom of toe casing,

by means of whichothe front Wheels or front .a maorierasto permit the front wheels to h gear casing 12 are permitted to swing "for wardly and rearwardly on a vertical axis for steering purposes, and also to swing vertically with the yoke on a horizontal axis laterally in either direction to permitthe wheels 9 to travel at different elevations. By this construction it will be observed that the frame and rear wheel may also turn or swing laterally in a vertical plane onthe yoke as an axis, so that either one or both sets of wheels may independently or simultaheously adjust themselves to travel over varying irregularities of ground surface, it being understood, of course, that in the lateral movements of the rear wheels the said Wheels and the frame will turn as a unit.

The shaft 6 carries a sprocket wheel 19 which is connected by a drive chain 20 with a sprocket wheel 21 on a longitudinally extending secondary drive shaft 22. This shaft 22 extends at its forward end through the yoke stem 17, in which it is journaled,"

and into the casing 12 through an arcuate slot 23 therein, said slot being normally covered by a sliding bearing plate 24: provided with a bearing sleeve 25 through which the shaft projects, whereby shifting movements of the casing for steering purposes are permitted without disturbin the shaft and without interference therefrom. The rear end of the shaft extends through and is journaled in a bearing opening 26 in the rear differential and compensating gear casing 15, and the front and rear ends of said shaft are provided with beveled drive gears 27 for transmitting driving motion simultaneously to the drive gearings within the respective casings 12 and 15, whereby a constant and uniform driving motion will be simultaneously transmitted to both the front and rear sets of Wheels.

The gearing for transmitting motion from the shaft to each set of wheels is similar in construction, so that a description of one set of gearings will suffice for both. Referring then, to the rear set of gearing it will be seen that the beveled drive gear 27 meshes with the beveled-toothed surfaces 28 of a pair of superposed, horizontal combined power transmitting and driving gears, which gears are journaled upon the top and bottom walls of the casing and are provided upon their relatively inner faces with scrollshaped portions or gear surfaces 29 which engage an annular series of pin or roller teeth 30 upon an intermediate gear member 31 carried by a hub or sleeve 32 loose on one 'of the shaft sections 14. The gear 31, which rotates about said shaft section 14 as'an axis, has fixed thereto a frame or casing 33 of a differential gear mechanism,

which is loosely mounted upon the other shaft or axle section 14, and which has journaled thereon the usual differential gear pinions 34 meshing with the differential drive gears 35 on the respective shaft or axle sections, whereby the axle sections will be constantly driven but are permitted to have differential motion to facilitate the turning or steering of the vehicle in the usual way. Hence it will be seen that both sets of wheels will be simultaneously and constantly driven, while the wheels of each set may revolve at varying speeds for a differential action, and the wheels of the front set may be swung as a unit for steering actions. Also it will be seen that provision is made through the swivel connection between the frame and yoke to adapt the wheels of each set to swing upon horizontal longitudinal axes to conform to variations in the level of portions of road surfaces over which they travel, during which they will have a constant tractive engagement with the ground surface, thus increasing the traction power of the device. As the trucks run over uneven surfaces the differential will move with the housing but the pins of the pin-wheel 31 will remain in engagement with the rib 25) so that the axle sections are permitted a certain amount of play, whereby a minimum range of flexibility of the wheels in accommodating themselves to different elevations of road surfaces will be secured.

We claim l. A tractor comprising front and rear sets of traction wheels, a pair of axle sections for each set, differential gearings connecting the sections of each pair together,

.apih-wheel loosely mounted on one section and connected with the differential gearings, a beveled wheel, means for driving the same, and a cam member on said wheel with which the pins engage.

2. A tractor comprising front and rear sets of traction wheels, apair of axle sections for each set, differential gearings connecting said sections together, a pin whcel loosely mounted on one section and connected with the-differential gcarings, upper and lower gear wheels each nrovidcd with a scroll-shaped gear rib with which the pins engage, and means for driving said upper and lower wheels.

In testimony whereof we affix our signa- HARRY C. Knox, ARTHUR H. MUENDER. 

